On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 18:21:51 -0400, Lise Eleanor wrote:
Originally I said an asteroid collides with Jupiter and a piece of Jupiter
breaks off and becomes the rogue asteroid heading for Earth. But, it seems
that it is actually an asteroid that would hit Jupiter and BOUNCE OFF
JUPITER and on into space.

Am I understanding this correctly?

No, the text meant a collision with another asteroid OR gravitational
influence by Jupiter. Not a collision with Jupiter. An asteroid can simply
approach Jupiter (without impacting into it) and Jupiter's massive gravity
can significantly alter its orbit. This means that an otherwise "safe"
asteroid, whose orbit didn't intersect Earth's can become a hazard in its
new orbit.

Either way, I'm sure that whatever hit Jupiter would simply be absorbed by
it, producing nothing more than a "puff of gas", most of which would also
fall back to Jupiter.

And, if I am understanding, could this asteroid hit earth if on the right
trajectory?

Yes, if the conditions were right and the asteroid orbit crossed the
Earth's.
Mind you, it would probably take a *long* time after the collision or
Jupiter encounter before if would hit us...

--
The butler did it.